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Black Mats
04-10-2012, 08:56 PM
I recently retired my circa 1970's Radio shack archer crossbow .64 wave antenna with a IMAX 2000. Seeing since this is my third base antenna since 1996. ive noticed a gain in DB with the imax, and i can really reach out (barefoot). Just my luck i put the antenna up and got 3 days use out of it and the DX conditions fell right out for a month straight. But during those 3 days i made alot of contacts and i am very pleased with it.

:thumbsup:

Bulldog-Unit777
04-11-2012, 02:20 AM
All in all the IMAXX 2000 is a pretty easy antenna to put up and performs. Mine has been up for 4 years without issues.

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa224/AmericanBLUZUMR/Antenna%20System/GodBlessAmerica.jpg

HighLander
05-06-2012, 03:35 PM
Hello,
I was wondering if you kept the old antenna and would be willing to part with it, if you still have it? I would like to have one to reproduce if i could get one that is in one or two pieces.
Thank you in advance,
Highlander

Gordon Gekko
05-06-2012, 04:09 PM
The old penetrators have been resurrected recently. Worth checking out. Imax tends to bleed from what i heard some locals complaining about

Black Mats
05-06-2012, 05:18 PM
Nope I canned the old antenna, it was no good. But I don't get any bleedover but then again im running barefoot

Gordon Gekko
05-06-2012, 05:53 PM
Nope I canned the old antenna, it was no good. But I don't get any bleedover but then again im running barefoot
Im just sayin that if the imax doesnt work out for ya, you may want to consider a new Penetrator. The imax's around here had all sorts of bleedover problems when power was put thru them. Even properly grounded they still upset the neighbors. Hopefully you wont have those problems.

Black Mats
05-06-2012, 08:12 PM
Na it should make any problems, Ive been running the imax for a couple of months now and havent had any complaints from my neighbors

HighLander
05-06-2012, 08:22 PM
To bad you pitched it.... I have all of the dimensions of the aluminum, but don't have the coil specs. I had one as a teenager. The coil is what failed...corrosion. :( It truly was the best antenna in 1978. I tested many back then. It was quieter than any of the 5/8 wave antennas of that time....not sure why.
If anyone runs across one in almost any condition, as long as it is complete, let me know. Thank you...

Black Mats
05-06-2012, 08:54 PM
Ya water would get in the coil and send the ser through the roof. Couldn't use the base when it rained

Gordon Gekko
05-07-2012, 04:34 AM
My friend still uses his original Penetrator. It's been through a couple hurricanes and several hail storms. A small tornado took it off his roof and deposited it on the ground.

He put it back together, re-mounted it on the roof and it talks just as good as when it was new

doughboy
05-07-2012, 10:31 AM
i once had a penetrator i took off some old ladys roof for her cleaned it put it up at my place it was probably the best antenna ive ever had not counting beams

Mr.5150cbrn
05-28-2012, 04:53 PM
i once had a penetrator i took off some old ladys roof for her cleaned it put it up at my place it was probably the best antenna ive ever had not counting beamsquite similar to mine got it for 30 bucks took it down , cleaned it up rebuilt the matching hardware with 10guage hard copper , been up through 4 ice storms and 3 tornadoes during the last 16 years great antenna ! though my next antennas will be a MERLIN .........soon

NY714
02-11-2013, 04:09 PM
have for 4 years went from proton 99, now the imax 2000 with ground plane is great for the money. Have spoke all over the world with it, no splash if use right coax, ground and choke. Mine is about 250 feet above sea level and like it alot. Would only trade for sirio gainmaster heard was slightly better or a beam of course !!!

NY714
02-14-2013, 11:15 AM
http://signalengineering.com/ultimate/antenna_basics.html

NY714
02-14-2013, 11:19 AM
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=4044

Ironman1956
09-13-2014, 08:40 AM
My best friend in Texas does not cb anymore. He is shipping me the Hi Gain Penetrator 500 he used on his home in the early 1980's. I had the same antenna and parted with mine when I moved to Washington State. I will get it up eventually but for now am going to be using a 1/2 wave dipole just to get started. Hopefully my equipment will come in this coming week. I am excited to try the new Uniden Bearcat ssb

550 Ozarks
01-27-2022, 10:50 AM
Would you be willing to share your info on the Crossbow? I just purchased one that has been in the air since the 80's. It was missing the top section and tophat. I've remedied that already. Going to clean it and put new hardware on it today.

Alabama Buckeye
03-13-2022, 12:06 AM
I'm a big big fan of Solarcon Imax 2000. It has been recently rebranded Solarcon Max Optimizer. Though still widely referred as the former. When the apparently ample stockpile is depleted the new branded batch will become prevalently available the name familiarity with change. The PITA is extra shipping on these antennas. They sure are very easy to set up. I put mine up 1/2 wavelength off the ground, making it 560 abv MSL, and SWR was pre-tuned to 1.1:1 all through 27 MHz; didn't feel motivated to try for better. I did put a pin head size dot of hot-melt glue on the out edge of tuning ring and the poly threads of the tuning section. My first one was twisted into pretzel form after tropical storm winds thrashed it in the tree branches. Had it up about 7 years. At about mid point I took it down to find where perhaps my SWR increase was coming from and found the tuning rings had work their way southward.
Imax 2000 is said to have 5.2 dBi gain.

I have 2nd 11M antenna, a Sirio SD27 dipole, also 5/8 wavelength, which is normally erected as a omni-directional. I have mine functioning, experimentally, as a vertical Yagi, with a pair of 102" steel whips with 22" extender for a 18.83' reflector. Spacing between the two elements isn't optimal but still functional. Gain: 3.35 dBi Quite affordable; if you can manage a 30' mast.

But what brings me here today primarily is an inquiry: Sirio Blizzard 2700 is the latest remake of the Siria 827. Sirio is big name is Europe. Seems Sirio isn't resting on its laurel when they renamed a repackaged 827, famed for it's performance, where upon they added a top-hat and blouse straightener and renamed it Blizzard 2700. The previous version is the Tornado 27, doesn't wear the top-hat. I take it the top-hat helps keep a portion of the signal from emitting towards the stars.

I'm thinking about sending my brother one of these. It would work immeasurably better for his Idaho location; where winds on the Rocky Mtn front face are regularly quite brisk to near gale force winds. Where an Imax 2000 would be as bent left as D.C., if not far left, more often than not.

Any Stateside users of the Sirio 827 or any of its variants?